North American video surveillance market poised for rapid expansion

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—With the technology becoming ever more sophisticated, video surveillance systems are on the verge of becoming an indispensible component of security systems worldwide. In the coming years, the growth of the North American market is expected to reflect that reality.

“The ongoing market trend suggests that in the coming years there will be a massive proliferation of IP cameras in the market, thanks to the high image quality and low power consumption in such cameras,” Ravi Baid, technology practice head at BIS Research, told Security Systems News.

Baid noted that high revenues in recent times are in part attributable to recent terror attacks, such as the Boston Marathon bombing, which showcased the efficacy of sophisticated video surveillance systems. Recent high-profile attacks and crimes have demonstrated that many security systems were, according to Baid, “lacking the ‘intelligence’ required to monitor and control anti-social activities.”

Thus, over the past five years, the market has witnessed a rapid transition from analog systems to IP/network cameras—a transition that includes the expanded adoption of thermal and panoramic cameras, Baid said, which can provide a 360-degree view and the ability to monitor during night and low visibility conditions.

“Technology is never stagnant, and so is the case of video surveillance systems,” Baid told SSN. “There is immense potential to upgrade the existing cameras, storage and related equipment and also the electronic components that provide the processing of [this] equipment.”

Baid explained that video surveillance equipment is being “increasingly driven by embedded processors,” which he said are designed to perform several key functions. Embedded processors should secure intellectual property, lower power dissipation, minimize cost and reduce development time.

The growth and technological trajectory of the video surveillance market is also spurring greater demand for cloud storage and video surveillance as a service, or VSaaS, which “presents big opportunities for new companies venturing their way into the video surveillance market and also for the traditional vendors providing analog cameras and VMS,” Baid told SSN.

He added that the parallel evolution of smart homes and building automation has also “surged the demand [for] smart video surveillance systems in the related security installations.”Several looming factors could constrain the lofty growth projections for the market. Lack of standardization is one of them, Baid said. The amount of data stored creates an “alarming need” for forming a set of standards for proper use of the data.

“Standards make it easier for the organization to control the flow of data from one place to another, since everybody will be working along the same standards line,” he explained. “Also, it provides consistency for manufacturers and integrators and creates end-user confidence in products, systems, processes and services.”

High initial costs could also emerge as a growth barrier for the market, according to the report. While the cost of storing and accessing surveillance video content could be taxing, so too could the cost of having to employ or train skilled professionals to use a sophisticated surveillance system, according to Baid.

On the equipment side, high initial costs are associated with NVRs and storage devices. The costs related to operating expenses and acquiring the floor space, power and cooling methods for these systems can also be high, Baid noted.